Gov. Patrick says Salem commuter parking facility to move forward

As part of his
Massachusetts Recovery Plan to secure the state's economic future, Governor
Patrick said the Salem commuter parking facility would move forward thanks to a
full funding commitment from the state.

The 750-space parking
facility to be located at the Salem Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority
(MBTA) commuter rail station will be funded in part by $3.6 million from the
Federal Transit Administration and $3 million from the Massachusetts Department
of Capital Asset Management (DCAM). The DCAM investment will allow 150 parking
spaces to serve the new Essex County Courthouse complex. The balance of the
spaces will be available to daily commuters who park and ride the commuter rail
to Boston.

In addition to the
committed federal and DCAM funds, the Governor said the state will fund its appropriate
share of the total $45-million project costs and will work with the MBTA and
the City to finalize each party's contribution to the project. The facility is
scheduled to be completed by 2011.

"By moving this project
from the drawing board to reality, we can address a longstanding need for
additional commuter parking and give Salem an economic boost," said Governor
Patrick.

The Salem commuter rail
station is one of the most heavily used on the MBTA's Newburyport/Rockport
Commuter Rail Line. It serves not only hundreds of daily commuters but also is
a point of arrival for tourists and visitors. The existing surface parking lot
with fewer than 350 spaces routinely is filled before 8:00 a.m. on weekdays.

The Patrick-Murray
Administration's Executive Office of Transportation and MBTA have committed to
completing projects that add a total of at least 1,000 commuter parking spaces at
MBTA stations on the North Shore by December 2011.

In June, Governor Patrick
announced final plans for a 500-space MBTA commuter parking garage plus housing
and retail, one block from the Beverly Depot. Funding for that $20-million
project comes from the state and MBTA, along with funds from the City of
Beverly. The Beverly garage should be completed by the end of 2011.

Infrastructure investment
is a key part of Governor Patrick's Massachusetts Recovery Plan. The plan
combines state, federal and, where possible, private efforts to provide
immediate and long-term relief and position the Commonwealth for recovery in
the following ways:

• Deliver immediate relief
by investing in the road, bridge and rail projects that put people to work
today and providing safety net services that sustain people who are especially
vulnerable during an economic crisis;

• Build a better tomorrow
through education and infrastructure investments that strengthen our economic
competitiveness, prepare workers for the jobs of the future and support clean
energy, broadband and technology projects that cut costs while growing the
economy; and

• Reform state government
by eliminating the pension and ethics loopholes that discredit the work of
government and revitalize the transportation networks that have suffered from
decades of neglect and inaction.